Bound Hearts
by Tsukiko hoshino
Summary: Sasori went ten years with a blank space waiting for a Soulmate that never came into the world. He'd given up wanting, given up waiting when it came bursting across his skin. Turns out she was literally the Antithesis to his entire being and He's pretty sure he hates her. (canonish Soulmate AU)
1. When Its Least Expected

**_AN:_**  
_Sarari- Sleek, Without delay or hesitation, A thin Liquid._  
_Orimasu- To weave_  
_Houkin- Gun Metal _

_If you cut up Sasori's parents names and mishmash them you get his. Patting myself on the back. _

_I condensed the timeline; There is still a war, his parents still die-he's still sad lonely, empty Sasori who masks his damage in unusual and creative/destructive ways._

_So a basic rundown would be that Sasori is 10 years older than Sakura._  
_That means he's 23 to Kakashi's 27 ( They don't like one another. Although its more likely to say Sasori is ambivalent and smug in equal turns while Kakashi is annoyed and deeply worried.) _

_One of these days I'm just gonna do a nice regular Same Age AU. Its just that I really likes the dynamic of Sasori calling Sakura "Little" and then getting rekt. It amuses me, ok?_

* * *

Sasori was four and already exceedingly brilliant, He could name every plant in the green house, knew which of them were baneful and the ones that could become remedies at a glance when he asked his mother about the smooth, silvery patch of skin over his heart. Like a scar that had been there from the moment he was born, shapeless in form.

"It means you are meant for another half." Sarari began, shifting the way that she lounged on the Veranda so that he was cradled in her lap, head pressed to her stomach. Even if he was a genius, it was difficult to find the words to explain in a way a small child would understand. "Some people in this world are fated to be together." although it didn't always necessitate romantic love, but more often than not it was the case.

He was frowning, eyeing her like he was years older than he was. "Then where is mine?" He knew from the mark on his mother's wrist and the one at the back of his father's neck that his own was boring, It had no vibrancy, no solid shape to decipher. It might as well have been nothing.

"Sometimes they aren't born when you are. Sometimes accidents happen and well..." She had half a mind to say that answering where babies came from would be easier than what she was explaining now. "But in any case it won't look like anything much until you meet them to begin with."

"Did mine have an accident?" His small hands clenched at her clothes anxiously.

There were stages to the way bonds worked and at the moment it wasn't far fetched to assume his other half was simply yet to be born rather than the worse case scenario. When and if they came, that formless splotch would begin to change. "You're so young!" Sarari laughed, cuddling him close. "There is plenty of time."

"I hate waiting." It seemed to him that life was all about waiting. Waiting for people to come, for them to go away, waiting for what he wanted and waiting for the things he hated to disappear. "How will I know its them when we meet?"

"It will be hard to miss them. Fate always deals in blood." Like a knife beneath the skin the scar marks would split open, bleeding color until something like a tattoo was left behind. In a way it was very much symbolic of how a bond could be. Painful and beautiful all at once.

Having a soulmate could be wonderful but to be so tightly wrapped in the existence of another could be a dangerous thing. Some would say it was better to never meet than suffer the fallout if a broken bond. It came down to the person, if they were strong enough to carry on. Some Simply failed to thrive but the worst case was always death.

To be bound was like drinking from a cup in which poison and the cure resided, never knowing which would win in the end. It could make one stronger or it could kill Them. 'But there a things a child cannot understand.' And there would be time to teach him nuances in the future.

"I want to meet them." Sasori didn't have many friends to begin with, finding other children to be loud and aggravating but if there was someone meant for him then there was no reason they shouldn't get along.

To say that he might never because the world was wide and things were often out of their control seemed cruel. "Someday...but Sasori, you shouldn't discount the loves that you choose-Just because something isn't fated doesn't make it any less."

Blank-faced he didn't seem to register her words or more likely he didn't care to hear them. "You have Father and he has you. I want someone like that."

It was true that Sarari would follow Orimasu wherever he went and vice versa, there were times where it frightened her how tightly twined they were but before she could say more the sliding of the door drew Sasori's attention.

"Father!" The shape of his face, the slope of his nose and the bow of his lips all belonged to Sarari but Sasori's eyes and distinctive hair came from the man lifting him high into the air.

"Welcome home." She greeted, smiling fondly at the image before her. "How did things go?" Not tell by the look in his eyes. "I see." she sighed, thinking of their packed bags and the long days that would be missed with their son. 'The nature of war...it robs everyone of time.' but as Shinobi they would do their duty.

Sasori was four when his parents left home and never returned.

Five when he learned to craft puppets and tried to recapture the warmth he so desperately missed, his heart getting colder by the day even as he clung to the hope that there was someone for him. His grandmother, lost in her own grief and using lies to placate and avoid painful truths inadvertently taught him that hiding his feelings was best. Hiding became burying and burying made him numb.

He's 8 when he goes to war and kills his first person, when he decides that whoever he was bound to had died long ago and lets go of hope, convincing himself it is better as it is. Sasori doesn't need anyone who will die and leave him behind again. He earns himself a title and reputation for being merciless. He's decisive in the decision that it is better to love no one and that he himself has no need of it.

Nine. when he unintentionally kills a boy that was the closest he came to having a friend but he doesn't quibble with the mortality of it. He simple tries to make amends in the only way he knows how. It had become hard to understand the value of life when he was constantly congratulated for ending it.

At 10 he was planning something more advanced but lacking in material when the 3rd Kazekage begins to fail-a natural disease compounded by the stress of a long war. There was nothing to be done other than watch the man ride out a long death.

"That's not how I intend to die." Houkin, as he was called by few said looking less impressive than Sasori could recall. He was a legend among Sunagakure, his abilities and prowess to be envied. It was a shame to see him so reduced.

'And yet here he withers.' In the end, even the mighty could not outrun death. If Sasori ever found a way to transcend the sad state of mortality he found himself in he surely would.

"What other choice do you have?" Sasori asked, he would have wondered why he had been called to see the man if it weren't a common occurrence. At his age he was already considered one of the most advanced Shinobi in the village and the Sandaime kept him close. 'Like I'm being watched.' and he probably was, lately he had been thinking of leaving but he never expressed it and he didn't believe anyone could see through him well enough to know it.

Houkin scoffed, narrow eyes locking onto amber ones. "You ought to know by now that I have eyes everywhere. I have a very good idea of what you've been doing in that workshop of yours Sasori."

"And what do you intend to do about it?" He might have been arrogant about his abilities but even with his depreciating state Sasori was not sure he would come out the victor if it came to a fight, though he would like to test his mettle.

"Nothing. In Fact I'm offering you a test subject. This body of mine can do no good rotting in the ground or reduced to ash. If you succeed than Suna is all the better for it." Things were already in decline for them. Whatever edge he, as the Sandaime could give to his village in death would be worth it.

"It might fail and you have to be alive-otherwise there is no Chakra. It could be painful...I haven't done it before. It's mostly theory." Komushi hadn't been a complete success, merely a step in the right direction. He was plainly ambitious now, feeling no reason to hide. In a way he is flattered that so much faith was being placed in his untried methods-even if he found the whole scenario to be rather absurd when he'd been thinking of running away just moments ago.

'And yet this one is asking me to kill him to protect a place I care nothing for…' Houkin was being terribly virtuous in giving Sasori his misplaced trust. 'Maybe it's the disease eating away at his brain.' he mused.

"Nothing risked is nothing gained. One way or another I die, at least in this it will have meaning. Your uncle, Rasa is ready to take the seat immediately and the council has been dealt with. All are in agreement." In other words Houkin was not asking so much as ordering. "You ought to consider it an art commission."

It bothered him that they knew of his side project but as long as they didn't know the particulars he didn't have to worry about them attempting to copy it. "If you're insistent on it...but there is something I would like as well; Fight me." It was not a request. 'If I could succeed against a Kage, what could possibly hold me back?' from doing whatever it was he wanted to do in the future.

"As you wish." The Sandaime seemed relieved that his last conscious act would be a fight. To die meekly was not for a man like him.

Sasori was the victor in the end, he'd liked to think that it was because of his own skills but there would always be a part of him that chalked it up to the Kage's failing health. He went without sleep for days, knowing time was essential. He made sure that in the end there was no pain during the process despite the poison he'd used. It wasn't a punishment he was dooling out, it was a boon.

It was late-or early depending on how one looked at it. The earliest hours of morning when the sun was just beginning to stretch out its rays by the time he had finished on the third day.

There was blood on the table but he paid no mind to it, moving his own chakra into the creation. It rattled and shifted as he attempted to pull and knead at the other energy inside of it. It was at the exact moment that black iron began to sift around the floor that he felt a stirring over the flesh of his chest, starting out as nothing at first and then it began to feel as if he was being stung by wasps.

It wasn't possible Sasori told himself, puppet clattering to the ground as he stripped off his shirt to look at the blank space over his heart. Raised pink lines not unlike welts were puffing up in a pattern he couldn't make out from his current way of looking.

In the end it turned out to be rather like cloud reading; ambiguous at best, but to his artistic mind it looked to be a five petaled flower of some sort. For the first time in forever he felt a profound sense of confusion, he hadn't wanted it, he'd given up hoping that it would ever happen.

'I haven't met them, maybe I never will.' He figured it was best to look at things pragmatically. The likelihood of it was very, very low, so things worked in his favor. '...but If I were to meet them, I'm practically ancient compared to them.' Sasori was bothered about the age difference more than he would ever care to admit. It was hard to imagine having anything in common with someone a decade younger than him.

That March 28th ended up being a very mixed bag. He had a new puppet, a new method of preserving unique techniques after the death of their owner and apparently he had a soulmate he'd long given up the need for.

Rasa became the Yondaime Kazekage soon after, his wife pregnant with a child his Grandmother agreed to help seal the Ichibi inside. The economy in Suna had taken a turn for the worse when the war ended but Sasori was sure they would come to regret their desperation. 'Well it isn't my business.' He had thought while tapping a dowel into place.

He was twenty when that line of thinking came back to bite him. Rasa had assigned him as the instructor for his children, particularly Kankuro the only one of the three with any interest in puppetry and because he was one of the few who could keep the three in line with minimal effort. The boy was cloying and starstruck, it annoyed him...he was also utterly unartistic even with his ridiculous face paint.

Temari was the easiest of the three in his opinion. Respectful and distant, she knew when to keep her mouth shut without having to be told...most of the time.

As for Gaara, he'd only attempted to kill Sasori once and quickly came to realize that just because Rasa's gold dust was heavier than iron sand didn't mean it wasn't something to worry about. The jinchuuriki did not trifle with him afterwards, behaving himself well enough that they'd had no more altercations-though occasionally a wild eyed look of consideration seemed to gleam in his pupiless eyes.

'I should have ran away.' Sasori thought at 23, listening to Gaara quietly threaten to kill his siblings for the third time on their journey to Konohagakure, one threat per day when it was averaged out. 'It's not too late.' He could fake his death at the next convenient opportunity and abscond. 'I could take the next step towards becoming true art.' He'd been toying with the idea for the last few years.

"Would you just tell me-" Kankuro began only to stop when he was the target of a rather blank look.

"If you want a poison figure it out yourself. You already have my old castoffs, be original." That was the problem with the boy in his opinion, he lacked creativity. 'Besides the last time I shared a concoction with a so called ally it ended up killing them.' Sasori preferred not to repeat that performance.

Temari rolled her eyes behind them because really they bickered over it-or something like it once a week. 'Teach me your secret poison Master! Oh how can I fit a flame thrower into this tiny compartment?' Listening to boys talk about dolls was a thoroughly boring experience.

Her eyes shifted to Gaara, taking in his body language-besides his verbal threats he seemed oddly calm which was good considering the alternatives. Maybe it was because they weren't so close to the full moon, either way she wasn't going to complain.

"I'm going to report in, behave." Short and to the point but between Kankuro's loud mouth and Gaara's chronic bloodlust the likelihood of that happening lowered the longer he took. 'But if Konoha can't handle themselves against foreign Genin is that really my problem?' The whole point of the Chuunin exams was to throw pieces of meat into the ring and see which ones walked away.

By the time he got back to them they already seemed on the verge of an altercation. 'We haven't even been here an hour…' he really should kill them, they'd listen better as puppets. Sasori sighed, pressing the palm of his hand to his eye.

There were three small brats and two older ones, one of which was wearing orange of all things. He was being held in a headlock by a frail looking girl with pink hair. They were loud; in appearance, in mannerism. He disliked it.

Kankuro had grabbed one little shrimp by the shirt, hoisting him into the air.

"Ah, Sensei!" Temari looked relieved to see him but just when Sasori had opened his mouth, intent on putting an end to the current shenanigans a pain pricked across the skin of his chest and warm fluid began to seep into the sleeveless shirt beneath his vest. The pain was similar to what he felt thirteen years ago but stronger, if it weren't for the fact that he was very good at ignoring pain he might have grunted.

He knows what it means but he wasn't sure of the source at first, not until the pink haired girl shoved the boy she'd been grappling to the ground, clutching at her side. Her hand came away wet with blood. "W-what? Now? Who?" She looked around in alarm.

"O-oi! Sakura-chan are you okay?" Orange-boy questioned, hands flapping around uselessly as he picked himself off the floor and began to fret around her.

A rock flew and struck the hand Kankuro had been using to grip one of the smaller kids.

Gaara stopped bristling in the tree he hung from, keen nose catching the scent of blood and something that didn't quite have a name. The scent of fate perhaps-if he were poetic. His head swiveled between the two sources. Maybe it was the fact that it was partly Sasori's blood he was smelling but he didn't fall into his normal state of mania, instead choosing to verbally mock his elder brother with stoicism his instructor could be proud of.

Sometimes there were moments that Sasori _almost_ liked Gaara. Then he promptly remembered he didn't like anyone and that it was a useless sentimentality.

The thought of simply ignoring the situation altogether crossed the Puppet Master's mind, he'd intended too but then Gaara disappeared from his treetop in a shunshin, reappearing rather close to girl and his own body simply moved on its own. It was disgusting. She didn't even put up a fight when he'd grabbed her by the waist and moved a good distance away. 'Wholly unacceptable.' Sasori thought, hating his lack of control.

He could hear the squawking from those left behind even from the rooftop he'd vacated to. Kankuro was particularly loud right along with the orange one.

"The hell?!" His unwanted baggage complained loudly, beginning to twist in an utterly pathetic attempt to break free. Sasori promptly dropped her onto the roof, watching as she used Chakra to stick instead of slide. 'A Kunoichi huh? Not much of one.' A wide forehead, a heart shaped face and long silky hair in pastel pink. He was close enough to see the faint traces of eyeshadow lingering around her green eyes, even her nails were painted a similar hue.

If Sasori, who treaded the margin between science and art had to pick a series of words to describe her they would have been; Disgustingly cute and wholly impractical. Everything about her screamed _soft_-a very bad thing to be in their line of work, it was clear from the way she carried herself the extreme lack of experience she had.

"Who are you?" Sakura, as he recalled her name to be was scowling, having moved a few paces away still holding onto her side.

He squashed the thought that wondered what the mark below would look like.

Sasori sighed, wishing that he had in fact run away and proceeded with the pursuit of ridding himself of mortal flesh when he had the chance, if he didn't have a body he wouldn't have a mark. Deciding that actions would probably speak louder than words he unzipped the beige flak jacket he wore to show off the dark red stain inside of it. That was as far as he was going, he wasn't about to whip his shirt off in front of a little girl.

"Oh." Sakura breathed, eyes wide. "But you're old…" 

He hated her.

* * *

There will probably be a continuation of this at some point, its just behind other projects.

Also happy New Year.

Baby Sasori is sweet and adorable...older Sasori is Salty.


	2. A Kick in The Right Direction

There has always been a mark on Sakura's side, since the day she was born below the last of her ribs and opposite to her heart. She's known what it meant since she was five and asked her mother, of course at that age the gravity had went right over her head.

Her own parents didn't have marks but they were still shamelessly in love to the point of embarrassment but in the end there were a lot of things they couldn't answer. Still, Sakura's immediate concern had been about whether or not her soulmate would even like her. At 5 and in school most of the other children ignored her or outright bullied her. For her hair, for the too large forehead she'd never noticed before, and perhaps most egregious in their eyes being a Teacher's Pet.

In young Sakura's opinion the worst of it was the forehead jokes considering she could pretend to be stupid but she couldn't change her physical aspects.

There were many times that she desperately wished that the person she was bound to would come bursting into her life, that like the pieces of her favorite puzzle (one with ridiculously sparkly, rainbow cats with huge eyes that made most adults cringe to look at) the two of them would seamlessly fit together. Even at five she knew that a piece by itself was alright, but when joined by another it became so much more.

Days came and went, seasons passed and they never came but she wasn't alone anymore. Ino was there. Ino was the one who taught her not to hide, to be more confident at least on the outside than Sakura ever felt on the inside. Ino, who had a mark that looked like a weird face between her shoulders and didn't seem bothered by it in the least.

"I might never meet them.' The blonde said, plucking some of the many petals off a white chrysanthemum. "Tying my whole life into someone I might never know...what's the point? It's better to just focus on the things I have right in front of me." She smiled, bopping the flower against her companions nose teasingly. "Like you," The grin turned into something rather conspiratorial. "And all the cute boys."

Ino at seven was prone to about one crush a month and that august happened to be devoted to Kiba after he brought one of his clan dogs into school for show and tell. It was the same summer that Ino caught a glimpse of the pink outline along Sakura's side for the first time and said "It looks like a cockroach, maybe it's an Aburame or something."

Sakura had nothing against Shino or his clan, but she really didn't want a bug permanently etched into her body. It wasn't very feminine, much less girly. Although if she looked at it the right way-or perhaps the wrong way, it _ did _ look like a bug. 'Or maybe a lobster.' she had thought, squinting at the mirror for a long while after that until pondering what it was just led her in circles and she gave up.

It took another four years for Sakura to decide that maybe Ino had the right of it, or that at the very least she should go through the motions and be like every other girl her age. She had come to the pragmatic decision that Uchiha Sasuke would be the target of her affection. If she could make _ him _ like her she could make _ anyone _ like her.

Sakura had perfectly logical reasons to choose him of all people, Sasuke was the most popular, the most lauded of everyone in their class therefore getting his approval, his attention would be like getting _ everyones _ .

So she'd gathered up the courage that had been years in the making, intending to ask him a question about the right angle to hold her wrist to hit one of the trickier long range targets in their weapons class when he'd simply looked at her, held tilted to the side and mumbled "Oh, Yamanaka's Shadow." And her whole being plummeted.

"That must be what everyone thinks." Sakura thought, equal parts dejected and...she supposed the word would be disappointed-in herself. It was like she didn't even exist outside of Ino and that had been fine for five year old Sakura but 11 year old Sakura wanted _ more _ .

Sakura wanted to be seen as herself not an extension of someone else and the fact that Ino also professed an interest in Sasuke gave her the inspiration to make a change. It wasn't out of animosity because as good looking as Sasuke was, as smart and cool as he was he could never supplant Ino and what she had done for her.

The day after graduation she called Ino out to the same place they met years ago and Ino, who probably knew her better than her own parents seemed confused for just a moment before her shoulders slumped in resignation, fist wrapped around the red ribbon Sakura had worn in her hair faithfully for years. The new shiny headband in its place was much heavier.

"I won't lose to you either." The blonde had declared, eyes closed and lips tilted into a proud smirk. From then on they bickered in public, loudly. They shouted and made snide comments, pushed and pulled at one another but not once did Sakura ever feel anything but thankful to Ino. Even Shikamaru, genius that he was seemed perplexed by the sudden shift.

It wasn't necessarily that Sakura was in love with Sasuke, she liked him. He was popular, he was handsome and at the top of their genin rankings and she was so sure that if she could just get him to like her a little bit it meant that anyone could like her, that she wasn't just unpopular, self-conscious Sakura anymore.

The mission to Wave came and went and it wasn't lost on Sakura how out of depth she was between Naruto and Sasuke but she was at a loss when it came to changing the status quo that they all seemed to have fallen into naturally. Her Sensei was not a bad man-he was supportive in a way that years later she might term _ accidently _ patronizing. Kakashi would risk his life for her, she had no doubt...but when it came to teaching it felt like he had no clue.

Often it felt like when he was looking at the members of Team 7 he was seeing something, or someone else entirely.

So, without a guidepost Sakura found herself gravitating back to bad habits-trying to catch Sasuke's attention.

Unfortunately it seemed like no matter what she did it just wasn't good enough. If she fawned all over him she was annoying, if she excelled at something Sasuke didn't it hurt his fragile ego and he spent hours sulking about it like it was some great offense. 'And now I'm even worse than Naruto?' which when Sakura thought about it, it wasn't that much of an insult since lately she'd sort of decided Naruto really wasn't all that bad.

Well, he still had moments that made her want to clobber him-like their current situation. His mouth was about to get them killed by a creep in a black catsuit. So there she was 13 years old, confused as hell about her path in life with Naruto's neck locked under her forearm and apologizing quite sweetly for his profound stupidity when her side started to sting something awful.

It had never hurt before but Sakura knew what it meant, what her parents hadn't been able to explain to her very well she had researched on her own like the industrious person she _ could _ be when she _ had _ to be. 'Oh no, don't let it be Face Paint. He wears more makeup than I do.' she thought miserably.

The feel of a thousand tiny needles pressing through her skin made her whimper, arm dropping from Naruto's neck to grasp the wet spot that was quickly forming. No one else seemed to be in pain and she recognized the sound of her own voice but she didn't quite register what was coming out of her mouth.

Things felt tense to say the least. Naruto was fussing around her, Sasuke had shown up in his normal, totally cool fashion but there was some weird red head with a giant gourd in the treetops looking down at her with a completely blank expression. For half a second she wondered if it was him and he was just _really_ pain tolerant but then he was gone and the whole world became a blur, her waist wrapped in what felt like an ironband.

"The hell?!" This time she knew exactly what she was saying as the pain faded into something more tolerable and began to twist aggressively trying to break free. She only got in about two wiggles before she was dropped, the incline of the roof made her slide for a beat, but as quick as Sakura felt it she pressed a thin film of chakra to her soles to keep herself stable.

Hand pressed to her side, Sakura turned her head to face her temporary kidnapper. He wasn't nearly as tall as Kakashi or as broad as her dad but he was taller than her by more than a foot. From the color of his clothes and the headband dangling from his waist she knew he was from Suna, which left her wondering what the hell he was doing in Konoha anyways.

Her eyes were drawn to the untamed chaos that constituted his hair, falling in not-quite waves about his face and over his forehead. In the bright afternoon sunlight the color verged on scarlet, a more intense red hue than her clothes favoured.

Oh, but it was his face that squeezed her heart, even at 13 Sakura had a bias towards pretty; With a slim, straight nose and sharp heavy lidded eyes that were wreathed in thick lashes he certainly fell into the category. All except for the firm,displeased set of his well shaped lips. 'Well so what if he's good looking?' Sakura thought, recognizing after much scrutiny that he had to be older than her by at least five years and came from a foreign country.

'And he also ran off with me.' She hoped Naruto didn't freak out too badly, the last thing they needed was an international incident. "Who are you?" She scowled.

The man heaved a sigh like the universe itself had inconvenienced him, and pulled the zipper of his jacket down swiftly, giving her a good look at the skin tight black shirt beneath it. He wasn't just a pretty face, but wiry muscles built for speed and dexterity. It took a moment for her brain to catch on to the fact that over his heart there was a wet spot that corresponded to a red splotch on the inside of his jacket.

"Oh," Sakura breathed in realization, eyes growing wider. Now, what she had meant to say was that he was _ older _ than she had expected but the words got all tied up on the way from her head to her mouth and they came out all wrong. "But you're old…"

"And you're a brat!" He snapped back, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This whole thing is ridiculous."

Sakura was beginning to wonder if there was something about Suna that made everyone who came from it into a monumental jerk. At a complete loss when it came to her current predicament she decided to do the polite thing. "I'm Haruno Sakura…" She bowed minutely, peeking up at him through the fall of her hair and waited for him to introduce himself.

He looked annoyed just from hearing her name and didn't bother bowing back. "Sasori." His eyes slid off to the left and narrowed just a fraction before he moved further back. About an inch from where he had previously stood Kakashi flickered into sight, looking about as frazzled as Sakura had ever seen him.

"Sakura, are you okay?" As it turned out Kakashi was developing a sense solely dedicated to knowing when something foul was afoot in concern to his students and as soon as he had nominated his cute little team he'd gone looking for them. What he found on the way was a bunch of Naruto's running around in a panic. It didn't take too long to find the original one.

The real Naruto had been having a rather public freak out in the company of a bunch of Suna genin while Sasuke managed his disquiet in a more constructive manner, casually questioning a Redheaded boy-Gaara as it turned out to be about why his Instructor had run off with Sakura.

There was something that was almost amused in the boy's pupiless eyes when he answered. 'No,' Kakashi amended. 'Vindictive.' when he thought about it that seemed to be a recurring trait when it came to Sunagakure ninja. 'At least in my experience.'

"Sensei isn't going to hurt her..." Gaara's arms were crossed over his chest as he looked off into the distance-presumably the direction the two had whisked off to. It felt like there was a _ probably _ dropped off at the end of his statement.

Hearing that particular name in conjunction to Sakura's had sent a swift bolt of alarm through him but it was what Gaara said next that really put a spur in Kakashi's side and apparently everyone else's.

"After all, wouldn't that be like suicide for soulmates?"

The fallout was bombastic.

Naruto shrieked, rather like a girl-looking as though someone had told him ramen was banned from the village indefinitely.

Sasuke mumbled a rather confused "Huh?" because given how ardently the girl had pursued him he'd always assumed she didn't have a soulmate.

The girl with spiky pigtails began to laugh hysterically, throwing her head back to the sky.

The last of them, another puppeteer if Kakashi's assumptions were correct seemed almost as disturbed as he felt. The poor boy actually trembled but the jounin didn't stick around to watch.

It wasn't necessarily that Kakashi thought Sasori was a danger to Sakura's wellbeing-at least not her physical being. 'I'm sure he could do plenty of mental damage.' he repressed a shudder. Sasori had a reputation that proceeded him when it came to his...art. 'Nothing says fun like dissecting corpses or making them dance around a battlefield to tear apart their once allies.' and a sad point of fact was that his sharingan was virtually useless against the younger man's tactics.

The copy-wheel could help him predict movements but Sasori averaged about one puppet per finger if he wasn't using his Sandaime-which was a whole different danger. That basically meant anyone who fought him one-on-one was out numbered. 'And that's taking the fact that they are all soaked in poison out of the equation.' The Suna-nin was without a doubt vicious, in word and in deed.

For the life of him Kakashi couldn't figure out why the gods would want to bind nice little Sakura with a monster. Sure she had a bit of a temper, but she really was such a good girl. 'And he's…' The devil might have been a good term as far as he was concerned.

"Why wouldn't she be?" Sasori wondered, holding back a snort it wasn't like he could do anything to her without risking himself. "You're being a bit rude, don't you think Hatake?"

Technically, butting in on them as he had was a bit against etiquette-finding one's soulmate was a once in a lifetime thing and it could take...adjusting to. "In my defense she's 13 and you're 23…" Sakura made a faint noise from behind him and if he had to put a name to it Kakashi would have termed it _ scandalized _ . 'Oops, guess she didn't know.' he couldn't really blame her, Sasori still looked a good deal younger than he actually was. 'Well, he is short.'

"Watch what you insinuate." _ before you end up writhing in agony _ was the unspoken threat that seemed to slither through the spike in killing-intent.

The faint twitch that was forming beneath the other man's left eye wasn't lost on him, and Kakashi filed it away for a later time. "Maa, just think of me as your friendly chaperone, ne? You won't even know I'm around." Kakashi held his hands up placatingly, gave a brief pat to Sakura's head and then true to his word seemed to disappear altogether.

Except Sasori could _ feel _ the copy-nin's eye boring into him and if he moved just a touch closer to the girl it was _ only _ to bother the other man.

"Uhm…" The pink haired girl began, wondering what to even say. 'Hi hello, we're soulmates, wanna go eat Anmitsu with me?' that sounded stupid and honestly, other than the distant pain she didn't feel terribly different. "Why is your team in Konoha?" that seemed like a nice thing to start with, only the question made his eyes narrow at her.

"The chuunin exams are coming up in a week." Sasori's dead-pan answer came and with it Sakura's nerves sky rocketed, the blood that had suffused her face with a pleasant blush drained away, leaving her pale.

'Oh no, that's right.' it _ would _ be around time for the exams and she had completely forgotten about it. 'There's no way Team 7...no there is no way _ I'm _ ready for them.'

"Kakashi would be stupid to nominate you." It was strange but it felt as if he could feel her concerns coiling about his chest like phantom fingers. It wasn't unheard of for Soulmates to catch glimpses of one another's emotional states if the feelings were strong enough, especially when they were in close quarters.

He didn't like it. It made his stomach flop pathetically like he was slipping into a free fall. 'I'll have to work on that.' on filtering out what was her and what was him.

It was one thing for Sakura to disparage herself but it was very different for someone else to do it, Soulmate or otherwise. "What's that supposed to mean?!" She seethed, hands finding their way to still flat hips.

"Stop that." Sasori huffed a sigh, looking almost amused. She went from one emotion to the next with startling speed, anxious to angry. He found that he preferred the anger, it had warmth to it.

It reminded Sakura of the way one might eye a precocious hissing kitten and that thought only made her puff up more. She actually bared her teeth at him, luminous eyes narrowing in on his own.

Without intending it Sasori found himself squishing her cheeks which as expected were _ soft _ . He tsked. At his lack of control, at her and the sad state of the universe that brought him so low. 'She really is a liability, what exactly am I supposed to do with her?' Between the Chuunin exams that Kakashi would be an idiot to allow her into and the impending Invasion it seemed that everywhere he looked something was threatening her life.

Sasori would have to consider things more carefully later, he never did anything without a plan in mind.

Since fear had been quite effective in getting his own Genin to listen he'd employ the tactic on her, _ if _ Kakashi did nominate his team she'd be too scared out of her mind to agree to the folly. "It means you're wholly out of your depth and if by some monumental lapse in logic your Sensei does enter you, you'll probably die." somewhere along the way he'd stopped squishing her, his grip became more of a cupping.

Sakura might have blushed because having her face cradled in the palm of his hand was very different from the conciliatory pats Kakashi liked to place on the crown of her head except she was focused on the anger coursing through her. "You don't know me well enough to decide that!" her head jerked away.

"Little Girl, you've probably never even seen a dead body before." He should have told her that Gaara, at the age of 12 had already killed well over 60 people and that there would be others just as dangerous as him lurking about and Sasori had _ meant _ to but Sakura continued talking, voice rising.

"Well, you'd be very wrong about that. I've seen more than one." Her teeth ground together as she spat the ominous words out. Sakura tried often to _ not _ to think about Haku and Zabuza, to not think about Sasuke's almost death and how she wept. She had been so ashamed of crying at first, until she realized that even though she was a Kunoichi she had no interest in throwing away her emotions. 'At the end of the day even a Shinobi is a human being and has the right to feel.' she was resolute in that.

Thinly veiled interest began to creep into his eyes. "Oh?" He prompted, his hand dropping from the air where it had lingered.

Sakura did not tell him names, or places because even if he was her Soulmate and technically allied with her village it seemed...unprofessional to give out that sort of information. She stuck to the facts of a mission that was meant to be a C-rank-as it had been recorded but in truth was A-rank.

Sasori withheld the unwanted aggravation that Kakashi even continued the mission despite knowing that he had been lied to about the details and listened as her voice became less a matter of fact and more suffused with emotion.

She spoke of a man who killed an entire academy class as a child, one he hadn't even been a part of, a man who took in a child and honed them into a weapon. Of a land that might as well have been nothing, strangled under a tyrant while the people choked and gasped, unable to find a way out.

The sad fate of an orphan who loved a man so much he used his body as a shield, of how that same man laughed about it-for a time at least. "And then when he found that he was to be used as a tool the same as...just the same as the boy who died for him he wept and died with a knife in his mouth." or maybe he had been eaten up by the thought of it the whole time and simply knew how to hide it better than Sakura ever could.

Sometimes if she closed her eyes she could still see Haku's ghastly face smiling in death, lips painted in blood and Sasuke's cold body pierced all over with senbon.

it had occurred to her now that Haku was probably more than just some orphan Zabuza had found on the street and molded into a weapon. 'No, they were probably more like me and Sasori.' The tears came unbidden because it was just awful to think about.

The rules said that a Shinobi should never show their emotions, but Sakura had long decided she would never be any good at that and after seeing how things had turned out for Zabuza she rejected the notion thoroughly. 'Just like Naruto.' She thought fondly. No, she wouldn't be killing her own heart with a blade as Haku had said, just so that she could become a text-book ninja.

There had to be a better way.

"What's there to cry about?" For the first time since meeting him there was an almost wildness to him, nutmeg colored eyes thrown wide and head cocked to the side as he looked down at her. "They died as they lived."

"They were still people!" Her voice rose in pitch, hands fisting until her knuckles turned white.

"Hey, does that sound like something an aspiring Shinobi should be saying?" he asked suddenly a breath away, bent close enough that she could feel his hair brushing her forehead. "Do you know how many lives you'll end up taking? Do you know how many will try to steal your own? If you keep thinking so valiantly you're going to die."

Maybe it was because Sakura had grown up feeling loved her whole life-never once made to feel like she wasn't allowed to be a human, or maybe it was because Kakashi had taught them that the written rules weren't _ always _ right. It even could have been because she had simply made the decision that being a Kunoichi didn't mean that she had to stop valuing other lives but she was appalled by his careless disregard for life.

In that moment she hated him and without thinking her foot lashed out and caught him in the shin. A feat which normally would have been impossible if it weren't for the fact that Sasori had been feeling rather complacent in her presence.

He learned his lesson about that because despite how small she was the kick had hurt.

"Idiot!" Sakura seethed. "How is that the only way you can think? People, Shinobi or otherwise have meaning." she didn't bother to say much more, buzzing with angry energy as she dropped down from the roof.

Sasori absolutely refused to rub what he was sure would be a forming bruise mostly because he was sure Kakashi from where he was hiding would have himself a good snicker over it.

"Brat." he mumbled. 'Only someone who's never taken a life or had their life threatened can spout off like that.' It was high time he got back to his own team. '...and they'd better keep their mouths shut, I'm in no mood.'

No matter how long he thought about it he just couldn't understand why she had cried. People died everyday.

Anger didn't last long for Sakura,not after she spent a good thirty minutes kicking a rock down the street. Instead all she felt was a mess when she found a nice quiet bench to drop into, developing into a nice sulk. "Stupid." unsure if she meant herself or Sasori. The blood soaked into her tunic was drying and making her itch.

"Sakura."

Her name spoken by a familiar voice had her head turning.

Sasuke had dropped into the bench besides her. Now normally Sakura might have blushed or squealed but in light of recent events she couldn't be bothered. "Uhh...hey?" she offered weakly.

He didn't quite look at her, his eyes off to the side as he spoke. "You worried us. Naruto has been running around looking for you." Apparently Sasuke had been too. Which made her feel warm and fuzzy but not quite the way it might have any other day.

Sakura blinked a few times as she registered the words because she never expected to hear something like that from him. "Sorry...I wasn't expecting it either."

There was a moment of silence before curiosity got the better of him. " If you knew you had a soulmate…"

Sakura supposed it was mostly his ego that drove him to ask because she had a very hard time believing he'd suddenly fallen in love with her, but then maybe she was being unkind due to recent events. 'I really do owe him an explanation.' She took a deep breath and put her thoughts in order.

"I guess I never thought that I would meet them...and you were always so cool, everyone liked you. I thought if you liked me then a little of what made you so special would rub off on me." She shrugged. "and it's not that I don't like you or anything...its just different."

She liked that Sasuke was always calm and collected, above the fray and tempestuous emotions she and Naruto often found themselves into. That being said she liked Naruto's determination, how he always picked himself up even after a failure and charged ahead.

What she felt for Sasuke was a choice based on a desired outcome. "I guess that makes me sound bad." Sakura's shoulders slumped. "And annoying."

The boy beside her laughed shortly. "it's surprisingly pragmatic of you." He had always thought her to be vain and vapid, but in Sasuke's opinion he sort of understood the reasoning. He was confident and proficient anyone would want to be like him. "So what's he like?" Sasuke hadn't even caught a glimpse of him besides a brief blur of red and he wasn't sure if it was Sakura's clothing or something else.

More than anything he wanted to know who was teaching that browless weirdo and how capable they were.

Sakura pouted and turned her head away. "I should find Naruto before he makes trouble..." She picked herself off the bench. "Besides, what you really want to know is if he's strong or not." She teased, offering a wane smile when he came to walk at her side. "I guess, Kakashi-sensei seemed kinda worried about him."

It only seemed to make Sasuke more interested. "What's his name?" He wondered if the instructor was as famous as theirs. Or as dangerous.

"Sasori. Didn't get a last name." It didn't take long to find Naruto-or rather two of them.

"Sakura-chan, You worried me!" And the first one threw his arms around her in a bear hug. It didn't matter that it squeezed her side and made it twinge or that he was loud and grabby. In that moment all she really wanted was to be hugged. She just about melted into him much to his surprise. "Oi, did that guy do something weird, dattebayo?" The other Naruto popped into nothing, dispersed in thick plumes of vapor.

Sakura guessed that depended on what weird meant and dropped her chin into his shoulder. "Not really ...he just isn't what I expected I guess." She was still trying to define how she felt other than angry at him but the more she tried to focus on the elusive feeling she'd been left with the more it seemed to slip from her grasp.

In the end Ino was right. It was best to focus on the things right in front of her. "You can let go now."

Naruto, not about to push his luck for once and get walloped after he managed to sneak a hug dropped her, grinning sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "What's he even doing here?" he complained, arms tucked behind his head as he took up the empty space beside her.

"The chuunin exams are coming up." The worry was back again. They weren't really meant to meet with Kakashi again for another few days but she was beginning to dread what he would say.

"Huh?" Naruto looked utterly lost-the proof that he hardly paid attention during classes unless it meant physical activity was required but Sakura launched into a quick but brief explanation and watched as his face lit up. "Oh, I get it! I hope we get to enter, dattebayo!"

Even Sasuke looked about as thrilled as he got at the thought.

'I guess I'm the only one who's worried.' Sakura was well aware she'd slipped into an unladylike slouch as she put one foot in front of the other. "I think I'm just gonna go home."

Naruto pouted briefly but after catching Sasuke's elbow in his side his attention turned to vocally complaining. "What was that for, Bastard?!"

Sakura heard the faint strains of mostly Naruto bickering as Sasuke threw in a few bored one liners as she walked away. She caught sight of Ino leaning against the wall of her house immediately, even as the other girl tried her best to look casually uninterested there was an almost visceral energy buzzing about her.

"Well?" Ino asked, spreading her arms wide expectantly. "What are they like?"

"Is everyone I meet going to ask me that?" Sakura scowled and then looked at her friend suspiciously. "How do you even know?" Her voice was high and squeaky even to her own ears.

Grinning, Ino looped an arm around the Pink-Haired girl's shoulders. "Naruto's been around the village looking for you and complaining the whole time. Don't be surprised if everyone knows by now."

'Well that explains the clone." Sakura groaned and slammed the door to her house open only to be hit in the face with a handful of confetti. "Stop that!" she wiped the sparkly bits off her face.

"Congratulations!" Mebuki wiped a tear from her eye. "We'll be having your favorite tonight." sometimes it was hard to believe how fast her baby had grown up.

"Mom,It's not like an award or a birthday!" Sakura ignored Ino's giggles, torn between exasperation and anticipation-her parents wouldn't let her eat tempura everyday, muchless anmitsu.

"Of course not, its rarer than either." Mebuki sighed as she watched Sakura kick her shoes off in the entryway, leaving them scattered about. "How'd it go, what were they like and when can we meet them?"

Sakura shuddered at the thought. 'I don't think that would go over well…' it was a bit hard picturing _ that _ man sitting at her dining table.

"I just asked that!" Ino intoned having placed her shoes neatly by the door after collecting Sakura's.

"I'm going to get cleaned up!" Sakura made a hasty exit up the stairs and into her room, Ino at her heels just as fast when she sensed the running intent.

"Oh come on it can't be that bad…" Sakura's tunic was thrown in the blonde's face cutting off whatever else she had meant to say.

Looking in the mirror Sakura got a good look at the undeniable proof that something about her had in fact changed that day. "Well, it's not a lobster." she pouted because she wasn't sure what she got what much better than what she used to think it was.

"Or a cockroach." Ino dropped the clothing into the hamper and perused the bottles of nailpolish Sakura had scattered along her dresser. "I guess a scorpion is a step up."

Apparently fate or whatever god was in charge of things such as soulmates had decided to be quite literal with Sakura. She was basically walking around with Sasori's name in picture form, colored a purple darker than violet larkspurs.

Later at dinner, which Ino had _ of course _ invited herself to stay for Sakura allowed herself to be interrogated all at once rather than piecemeal.

"He's than me older." Sakura had stuffed a piece of tempura into her mouth.

"By how much?" Kizashi had managed to maintain an eerie sense of calm after hearing the news-it was strange because he was by far the more...animated out of her parents.

"Ten years."

Ino laughed like a hyena that night.

"Oh," Mebuki smiled knowingly. "Well, it always did seem like you liked them mature." There was no use in throwing a fit about it she thought, watching her husband sob.

Sakura choked on a tempura fried carrot.

Across the village, in their temporary quarters the Suna contingent had their own troubles to deal with.

Temari had been sent out an hour ago to go retrieve dinner and normally Sasori would have reprimanded her for being so late-and he was about to until he saw the blood trail running from her neck, starting beneath her head band and staining her clothes. The fingers he had been drumming against the table stilled.

"Don't. Say. A. Word." She threatened, dropping the bags on the table. 'Is this like...karma for laughing at Sasori-sensei?' The guy she was stuck with wasn't even cute. He was a slouchy, lazy bastard who took one look at her and said _ troublesome. _ 'At least he's my age.' she thought viciously.

"Does anyone else," Sasori looked between Kankuro and Gaara seethingly. "Have a Soulmate in this godforsaken village?"

* * *

This chapter was meant to end at "Sakura choked on a fried carrot." But I couldn't resist throwing Temari under the bus right along with her and Sasori. Basically the entire cast exploded all over this chapter, my bad lmao.

In all honesty, Sakura IS the more emotionally mature one out of her and Sasori despite being a 13yr old girl whose feelings flop all over the place.

I mean;  
Sakura: I have feelings and that's ok. c:  
Sasori: Feelings? What are those...oh wait I do have one: Annoyance.

Its why Sasori is capable of feeling Sakura's emotions more than she can his.

On a side note, I've had to go back and re-read a good portion of part one just to remember key details...talk about nostalgia. -Me remembering when I actually liked Sasuke.- and then the whole apple smack thing happens and I'm like "Naaah."

Larkspur,or Delphinium is poisonous-but in the language of flowers the purple ones can mean  
sweetness and first love. In ancient times they were also used for driving away...scorpions. Hahaha.


	3. Strange Dynamics

It was one of those days that just about everything seemed to go wrong. Sakura woke up late, skipped breakfast and still didn't have time to blow dry her hair which meant it wasn't the normal pin-straight length but full of errant waves. 'I probably could have spared the time to dry it but the day that one of us is late is the day Kakashi-sensei shows up on time and I am _not_ going to be subjected to some weird punishment.'

The hair and having to wait hours past the meeting time was bad enough but worst of all was that Kakashi _did_ nominate Team 7 for the exams. Naruto and Sasuke were as enthused as she had expected and though she had until the next day to make her decision Sakura wasn't sure she really _had_ an option. She was pretty sure cells had to compete together or not at all.

'Even if I wanted to, could I say no? What If I fall even further behind them by not showing up tomorrow?' Sakura hated the thought of that and she hated how hard it was concentrating on the book in her hands. 'I just want to read about the differences between Moonseed and Wild Grapes...' There had been an unfortunate incident on their way back from Wave in which she might have accidently poisoned Naruto and he spent the whole night vomiting. 'And I just _cannot_ handle a repeat of that.'

The very _least _she could do was learn not to kill anyone when she was in charge of foraging. 'Though to be fair Naruto put those berries in his mouth before Kakashi checked them.' So intent on memorizing the shape and color of leaves she missed the sound of the chair scraping against the floor across from her. It was the aggravated sigh punctuating the air that had her glancing over the edge of her book. 'Well, this is new.'

Usually Shikamaru was slouching off somewhere with a good view of the clouds until someone dragged him into something but there he was sitting across from her with the look of someone being marched to the grave. He didn't say a word and didn't seem like he was in any hurry to either but everytime she tried to go back to reading he sighed.

"Shikamaru, I can't read minds." Sakura slapped the book down on the table after she got sick of the sound.

He heaved a sigh, slumping further in his chair. "Your soulmate is that Jōnin from Suna…"

'Its official, everyone _does_ know about it.' Sakura thought about slapping her head into the table too. She'd been trying not to think about Sasori, the whole kicking him in the leg thing and then running off was not her best moment. In fact she hadn't seen him since it happened a few days ago and while that _probably_ should have relieved her it didn't. There was an undeniable curiosity about him that nagged at her whenever he came to mind. 'I just don't understand _why_ of all people...'

"...The name of the girl on his team?"

She missed everything preceding that but had a good idea of what he was asking. "Why do you want to know that?"

Shikamaru mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like _troublesome._ "Lets just say you and I now have something in common." Besides being smart, not that Sakura knew it considering he _purposely_ tanked his grades in the academy making a point to fly beneath the notice of his peers. 'If only that had worked with Asuma-Sensei…'

"Something in com-_Oh._ Oh!" It only took her a few seconds because Sakura wasn't stupid even when she was distracted. "Why didn't you ask when you met her?"

Shikamaru grimaced, one hand rubbing against the back of his shoulder in memory. "Well after the pain wore off," because no one ever told him just how much it actually hurt, or the suddenness that it set upon a person and he'd been a little out of it. "I might have you know, said she was troublesome and that the whole thing was a hassle and then she got all pissy and stomped off before I could ask." If that was any indication of how things were going to be he'd been perfectly correct in his first assessment.

"I'm beginning to think it's normal for first meetings to go completely sideways." Sakura fought the urge to slap a hand over her face in second-hand mortification. She was pretty sure he'd done worse than she had. 'And that's saying something, I mean at least I know his name.'

"Before you have yourself a giggle at my expense let's just remember how things went down for you, what with calling him old and all-now do you know her name or not? My mom is chewing my ear off about this."

Apparently Ino had been shooting her mouth off about the details. 'Traitor.' She thought towards the blonde. "If you wanted to know the names of the other two I could have helped, Naruto and Sasuke won't shut up about them...but I don't know a thing about the girl.' Other than the fact that she'd been okay with letting Kankurō or whatever terrorize a little kid. 'You know, now that I think about it maybe being a jerk really is a Suna thing.'

"What a drag." Shikamaru sighed, folded his arms beneath his head and promptly closed his eyes without so much as a _thank you_ or a _sorry for the interruption._

As it turned out, being a jerk was _not_ decided by geography. Reading was impossible because as soon as Shikamaru was well and truly asleep-something that he fell into with astounding speed considering he typically moved with the haste of a snail, he'd started to snore. While Sakura had come to consider herself pretty good at filtering out background noise after months of having to bunk near someone who sleep-talked-_loudly_, she was already on edge and the sound was more grating than ever.

She packed up her books and went to treat herself to a snack at one of the local tea shops. Apparently the old adage that concerned talking about people and then them showing up was true because as soon as she flipped up the curtain and got a look inside Sakura was faced with the very people she'd just been talking about. 'Of all the tea houses in Konoha, why the one I like best?'

Being as close to the library as it was she'd become so much of a frequent visitor that the owner and her husband knew her by name and they were so comfortable with her that they had stopped asking for her order and simply brought her whatever they thought she would like.

'Not that I can complain…' Sakura was pretty sure that it was because Himari—the wife, thought she was _adorable_. Although it didn't sound like a very good business model to give away products based on an arbitrary cute-factor and she was aware that being viewed as adorable seemed counterproductive to being a ninja but it was _free_.

Sasori and his team were the only people inside besides Himari and Yuu who were _probably _hiding in the kitchen area far from the stifling aura their customers gave off. They all sat with wide gaps between them and Sakura would have quietly edged herself right back out the building except for the fact that she'd already been noticed by two out of the four.

It was really just natural reflex that she tried using the book as a shield against the weight of being stared at. Sasori had not turned his head to look in her direction but glanced at her from the peripheries, expression unchanged and completely unperturbed. The other one, Gaara if memory served was like an odd copy of his teacher.

"What are you tw-" The girl Shikamaru had been asking about was the third to pick up on her presence, teacup pausing halfway to her mouth. "Oh." Surprise worse off her face quickly, a slyness that seemed vaguely familiar replaced it. She was across the room in a flash. "You look like you're about to run off, you should stay and have some tea."

Every cell in her body seemed to scream at her about how awkward the situation was but running away ceased being an option when she was pressed into the seat across from Kankurō.

Sasori and Gaara sat the furthest away, at opposite ends of the room at their own empty tables. Kankurō and the girl shared the same table and Sakura couldn't shake the feeling that she was being dragged into an animal den and whether or not she came out in one piece depended solely on how she carried herself from there on out.

"Temari!" The boy in black hissed, hands thrown up in protestation.

'Ah, so that's her name.' Sakura couldn't help but feel some spiteful smugness at the fact that she now had something to hold over Shikamaru's head, considering her current situation _was_ his entire fault. "Uh…" she began, only to find her voice lost as the two continued talking over her.

"What? Isn't it right and proper that we meet our cousin's soulmate?" Temari was not very good at looking innocent, she was far too sharp for it.

"Cousin?" Sakura gasped.

"His father and ours were brothers." Temari explained without looking at her, keen eyes looking for any imperfections in Sasori's countenance. Part of what she was doing was out of spite-a family trait she had inherited and the other part of it was simply for the attention, not that she would ever admit it.

In a somewhat impressive feat the paint that Kankurō had slathered all over his face _didn't _smudge when he ran his hands over it in frustration. "You really should know better than to kick a scorpion nest by now Temari." It was like asking to get stung and he certainly didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.

For the most part Sasori kept his Genin well in line but every now and then one or two of them decided they were feeling particularly _plucky _for some reason or another and wanted to see what they could get away with which was usually his cue to crush their little hopes and dreams, an activity that he _may_ have occasionally delighted in. Apparently it was one of _those_ days. "If that's the case I suppose we should go track down yours but _ah_, that's right; You don't even know his name."

There was a faint cringe to be seen around the corner of her dark teal eyes, revealing the barbed commentary had struck. "That was not my fault." Temari scowled and reclaimed her seat as soon as she was sure their new companion was not going to sprint for the exit. 'Not that I would blame her.' her family was by no means conventional and certainly not _nice_.

Normally Sakura was what one would call a know-it-all and she did at that point know more about Temari and Shikamaru than anyone else in the room knew but her brain was still currently stuck on the whole _they were related _issue.

Now that she knew it, Sakura's eyes immediately sought out the similarities between them all. Gaara and Sasori could clearly be viewed as related given their hair color and mannerisms, though the younger of them was even _less _engaged than Sasori, having gone back to staring into the depths of his cup like the secrets of the universe could be found there within. The vacant expression on his face reminded her of something she couldn't quite place at that moment.

It put things in a new light, the four of them were not just master and subordinates but _family_, yet there was a distance that could be felt just from being in the same room as them. They didn't _feel_ anything like her own family, though there was only her parents and herself to account for. 'And it's nothing like Team 7…' with everyday that passed since they had been thrown together; from chasing that poor, fat cat named Tora through the dangers of Wave the three had become less like people she served with and more like family.

Sakura hadn't considered the slow evolution that had taken place-how important the whole of her team had become until she was faced with the opposite reflection before her. 'These are people who have fought besides one another, who share blood and have _shed_ blood together but it feels like there is this giant chasm between them.' She'd go as far as to say it felt like they were almost continents apart with the exception of Kankurō and Temari who shared the same space.

There was a quiet _swoosh_ as Himari exited the back, looking utterly relieved to see a face she was familiar with and didn't make the room feel as though it was several degrees colder than it actually was as she balanced a small tray. "Sakura-chan, I thought I heard your voice." An extra cup was placed and poured with something that was distinctly not green tea, the faint scent of something floral lingered after it was poured.

If Sakura were to guess and it had become a bit of a game lately to figure out the contents of what mystery tea Himari served her she'd put money on it being jasmine.

'Of all the places, it had to be the one she apparently frequents.' Sasori had only chosen it because it was quiet and more or less empty. He'd had been thinking over the last few days and had come to the very logical conclusion that there was no point in being angry at Sakura about the whole soulmate fiasco, in the end she had as little choice in it as he did. Accepting it and liking it were not the same.

"You know her by name?" It was the most Kankurō had heard from the waitress beyond asking for their orders-which was to be expected since he was well aware of the aura they gave off together much less individually. For the most part it was a point of pride that they were _intimidating_. ' and I don't see the point if getting close to anyone since we're slated to smash this place in the next two weeks.' So far, despite the two obvious snares that had been thrown into the mix Sasori hadn't notified them of a change in plans and he was left to assume things would proceed.

There was however an unspoken agreement that they were to avoid any undue harm to Sakura and whoever the hell Temari's soulmate was. 'Although I'm not sure how we're supposed to manage that when the only descriptive words she used were; rude, slouchy and spikey. I mean hell, that could be a variety of people.'

Himari, less fearful now that Sakura had more or less broken the ice with her presence nodded. "Oh yes, she's here quite often. This one is almost always reading, sometimes she comes in with one book and leaves straight back to the library for a new one."

How quickly Sakura read was dependent on the day and the subject, but she said nothing as she pressed one of the almond biscuits to her mouth.

Kankurō and Temari's eyes seemed to move in unison to the books Sakura had set on the table. The two of them had been arguing amongst themselves the last two days- out of earshot of course, on just why Sasori had a soulmate that was some twiggy, pink haired girl. The book at the top of the stack was labeled as an advanced guide to poisonous plants.

"Huh. I guess maybe the two of you _do_ have something in common." Temari snickered and tossed the book in Sasori's direction.

"Hey!" Sakura could handle being made uncomfortable but she didn't see why the books had to suffer along with her.

Sasori caught it if only to avoid being pelted in the face. Temari had excellent aim, as if he would tolerate anything less.

"You know speaking of poisons, the exams start tomorrow and today would be a great time t-"

Gaara visibly twitched, his eyes moving a fraction if an inch away from the cup. "If I have to hear this again I _will_ kill you." Whatever levity Temari and Kankurō may have been experiencing plummeted, the second visibly recoiling as if Gaara had raised a fist.

"I think Yuu said something about goma-dango." Himari said with a faint shudder, sliding her way backwards. "I'll just go check on those." And then she was gone out of sight again. [1]

Sakura frowned and slid the bowl of sweets to the center of the table. "Help yourselves." Naruto and Sasuke certainly bickered, threatening and sometimes even coming to blows but it was always in the good natured rough housing that boys seemed to relish in. 'But that is _not_ what I just saw.' Even a novice like her could tell the difference yet Sasori didn't seem bothered by it having occupied himself with flipping through _her_ book.

"Well, at least it can be said that you're polite." Temari remarked, eyeing the confectionaries for a moment before snagging one. "Although politeness never got a Kunoichi very far." It was meant to be a jab, especially when said with the sneer that was reminiscent of her cousin's.

"Maybe, but being polite has certainly helped me learn a lot of things." Sakura decided there was no better moment to put her foot down. She had little doubt that they thought she was being meek-a polite way of saying weak and simply going along to get along. 'Maybe I'm not particularly strong like Sasuke and maybe I lack stamina like Naruto, but what I do have is brains and I know when to seize an opportunity to do some damage.'

The moment "Like what?" exited Temari's mouth she was left with the feeling she'd stuck her foot in a trap and the way that Sakura smiled so coyly behind the second almond biscuit only drove the realization deeper.

"Troublesome, hassle-sound familiar yet? Or how about the pineapple hair...if that doesn't help how about the part-"

"Nope! it all sounds spot on." Temari cut in before Sakura could continue, having no interest in reliving the events. 'Not only that but I didn't tell them the reason I didn't get his name was because I got mad and walked away.' Kankurō would never shut up about it, Sasori would give her that look and she would be _lucky_ if that was all she got.

From the moment she'd caught sight of Sakura at the entrance Temari's intention had been to poke and prod in an attempt to get some sort of reaction from her or Sasori. 'And she turned the tables on me.' It was vexing but...respectable. "...What's his name?" It felt like a mouthful of sand just having to ask.

Kankurō could almost hear his sister's teeth grit, or maybe that was the cookie he was chewing on with sudden relish. The sound of pages being turned had stilled signaling that Sasori too was all to aware of what Sakura had done.

"Check the library, he might still be there and you can ask him yourself." Sakura could have told her, she wasn't without sympathy for the situation but playing mediator between the two of them seemed like it would get old fast.

Temari was on her feet and pulling her weapon off the wall from where it had been propped alongside the strangely wrapped _thing_ that belonged to Kankurō if Sakura recalled correctly. "Permission to be dismissed?"

"Just get out of my sight." Sasori rolled his eyes and anticipated what came next, Kankurō's mouth was already open and poised for a question. "That goes for all of you." If Temari wasn't around Kankurō got all antsy having to be around Gaara and vice versa. They'd already had a long discussion about laying low, if they were itching for a fight they didn't have much longer to wait.

Temari and Kankurō squabbled over the last of the almond biscuits just before they left, the most sibling like thing she'd witnessed thus far but when she turned her head, ears caching the subdued sound of something sifting Gaara was gone too. Which meant she was alone now and had no one to use as a buffer between her and Sasori. 'I should have kept my mouth shut about Shikamaru.' she realized a little too late. 'Maybe he'll just you know...ignore me.' and then she wouldn't have to apologize or stick her foot in her mouth again.

"Are you planning on poisoning someone? It's far easier to inject then to make someone ingest."

That's right, he still had her book. "Just the opposite, I'm trying to _keep_ from poisoning people." She left _again_ off purposely but it was too much to hope that he wouldn't seize on it. Having to turn her head to look at him was starting to strain her neck. 'And this whole separate table thing is a complete waste.' She took her tea and the rest of her books, settling in across from him.

"I take it you had an incident." It wasn't uncommon. If Konoha's academy classes were anything like Suna's they only covered a small amount of poisonous plants. They tended more towards the ideology that a person should stick to what they knew was safe. That being said accidents did happen. "Who ate what?"

"Naruto, Moonseed. I mistook them for Wild Grapes but before I could verify with Kakashi, _someone_ put them in their mouth."

"What is he, a horse? because only a few of those berries and that boy should be dead." assuming he was around Sakura's size and had the metabolism of a normal person.

It was an oddity that Sakura _had _noticed when reading. The berries were lethal even in small doses but Naruto had only spent a night being violently sick and he had eaten at least a handful. "I figured Kakashi probably administered activated charcoal or something. Naruto was his usual self the next morning. It's the only explanation I can come up with." except she hadn't _seen _Kakashi administer anything.

"By usual self do you mean lethargic and half alive?"

"Not by a long shot. Loud and energetic." She would have added annoying to the trifecta but Sakura felt even worse about the whole situation after realizing he could have died from eating something she'd picked.

That seemed highly suspicious to him. 'That sort of rebound is almost unprecedented.' but there were a few extenuating circumstances he could conceive of. "Do you know the difference between the two now?"

Sakura's nose wrinkled before she responded "Crescent shaped seed and no tendrils as one would expect from the name Moonseed. Honestly I feel pretty dumb about it now."

"You were at least smart enough not to eat them and wise enough to make sure you learnt from your mistake." It wasn't like _he'd_ never accidently poisoned someone before.

'Odd how that _almos_t felt like a compliment.' Sakura mused.

There was a shuffle as Himari swept back into the room. "Oh." The tense set of her shoulders relaxed when she realized most of the former occupants were gone. She shrugged and set the fried dango between Sasori and Sakura before going about the room and collecting dishware no longer in use from the other tables. "Goodness, where did all this sand come from?" she mumbled to herself and left with full arms in search of a broom.

"I'm sorry." Sakura blurted out the words quickly enough to surprise him. "I shouldn't have kicked you.'' She used a pair of chopsticks to pick up one of the fried balls, they were still piping hot which meant the insides would be gooey. "Even if what you said was stupid." she added mostly under her breath, not wanting him to think that she suddenly agreed with his view of human life and it's worth it. 'Or rather lack thereof.'

"That's right. You did kick me." As if he had forgotten, the bruise had started turning yellow-green after a day or two. "More importantly, what I said was perfectly factual."

As much as Sakura appreciated logic and facts there were some things that could not be quantified, like when it was acceptable to mourn the loss of life or if their lives had any meaning at all. ' And of course they do.' And she was going to prove it. "Wouldn't you feel bad if one of your cousins died on some mission?"

"No. I would feel _disappointed_ because it would reflect poorly on me and my skills as their teacher. Shinobi are like cream, the good ones rise and the rest fall."

"They are your family." Sakura blinked a few times and stared at his face for any sign that he was just pulling one over on her but she couldn't find a thing, she would have said he was perfectly blank but he seemed...amused. "and by the way pond scum rises to the top too." So there.

There was a scoff as he drank the last of his tea. "You say family as if it's supposed to mean something." Rasa was his uncle, it didn't make them close. 'And just look what that man was willing to do to his own son.' and then there was his grandmother who lied and assumed the worst. No, blood ties didn't mean a thing to him. 'Besides I have very little to worry about it when it comes to those three. They are annoying but they are anything but weak.' That feeling was back again, the same one from the other day that he'd come to recognize as anger.

Of course it made her angry, if he couldn't care about his own family she could only wonder who the hell Sasori did care about."I take it back." Sakura seethed, baring her teeth. "I'm not sorry for kicking you at all!" Honestly he deserved worse than a good kick. She whipped the admittance waiver out of her weapons pouch along with a pen and signed her name on the paper.

"You can't unapologize." Sasori scoffed at the notion, he was almost positive that _wasn't_ a thing but his knowledge on apologies was lacking, abysmally."And why are you signing that?" He could hardly believe she had one in the first place. 'Kakashi has clearly suffered too many blows to the head.'

"Says you and I am signing it to prove a point." It was childish and completely spiteful of her.

"Is the point to prove that you can die an early death? There is a good chance you'll be right."

"No! its that if _our _lives don't matter than putting _mine_ in perceived danger shouldn't matter to _you_ at all."

"That's completely different, it's not just your life but possibly mine as well." Self preservation was a natural instinct. 'Well maybe not so natural since she's _throwing_ it out the window.' Taking the paper wasn't an option when she could just get a replacement by tomorrow and he couldn't very well bar her entrance without causing more trouble than it might be worth.

"What's the value of _your_ life if no life matters?" Sakura countered as she precisely refolded the paper and stuffed it back into place. "Himari, I'm going!" She called, hand cupped over her mouth as she rose from her seat. "If you want to charge me I'll just pay next time." And she was out the door without so much as a goodbye.

Sasori wondered if it was going to become a pattern, Sakura getting mad and fleeing. 'At least there was no kicking this time.' he sighed and tapped the book she'd left behind in her haste. Now that he was alone he found himself considering her words. 'The value of my life…' It was a finite thing even though he was at the top of the tier. Even the idea he'd been kicking around couldn't completely guarantee an unending existence.

"Would you like more tea?"

Somewhere along the way he'd lost track of time, the waitress-Himari as he recalled had come back. "No, I'm ready to pay… The girl's too." Not that she deserved it.

"I usually don't charge her." Himari smiled behind the bill she was holding. "She's really rather cute and so terribly hard working. I mean the books Sakura-chan reads...Sometimes they're bigger than she is! It's hard to believe she's a Kunoichi sometimes."

Sasori could agree with the last part.

It took Sakura until the next morning after a night of tossing and turning to realize she'd left her book behind. Not that she had the time or interest to track it down immediately. Nope, she was too busy mentally berating herself for letting Sasori get the better of her _again_. The fact of the matter was that when she got angry _things _just happened. 'Like signing this stupid paper.' She thought, glaring down at her name.

She couldn't just not show up after making such a big deal and signing the form right in front of Sasori's face because then he would think he'd won and she certainly couldn't have _that_. So Sakura made extra sure her gear was in order, added some more ration bars and medical supplies after a moment of consideration. "I'm going." She said, poking her head into the kitchen to bid farewell to her parents.

They were typically overbearing and boisterous but since Sakura had given them the news last night that she would be participating they'd been rather...subdued.

"Well," Kizashi threw open his arms. "Come along then." For once since turning ten Sakura did not roll her eyes and simply allowed herself to be hugged tightly.

"Winning or losing doesn't matter." Mebuki advised. "Only surviving, don't forget that and don't be surprised if we're not there to watch you get the daylights beaten out of you either. We just don't have the stomach for it." She kissed her daughter's forehead. "You'd better go before someone starts to cry,"

Sakura made a show of leaving more confidently than she felt if only to make them feel a little better but by the time she was around the block she was just about dragging her feet to the meeting destination. She arrived first, Sasuke not long after.

"Sakura-chan!" And Naruto last with his usual excess of energy.

"Yea, good morning." she replied, offering a tepid smile.

Sakura missed the suspicious look Sasuke had spared her.

"I have a question, what were we supposed to do with this again?" Naruto questioned holding up his paper.

"Sign it, can't you read?" Sakura pointed towards the bottom. "The rest of it is just a disclaimer about how the village is not responsible for you know...possible death or catastrophic injuries." Neither he nor Sasuke flinched.

Naruto laughed "Well, I'm not worried about that." he searched around for a pen only for Sakura to offer him the one out of her own pouch-as amusing as it was to watch him dance around like he had ants crawling around his pants Sasuke was looking rather annoyed.

They traveled the rest of the way together, passing numerous groups along the way until they hit the second floor where Sasuke led them right into an ongoing altercation. There was a boy with a bruised face and a bad haircut who'd been knocked onto his bottom and another girl with buns that had recently taken a blow to the face herself.

Sakura noted the number posted above the two boys guarding the door. '2nd floor but its labeled as 301…' No, if she focused hard enough she could _feel _something wrong. She would have said something but she was busy listening to the people guarding the door.

"The Chūnin exam isn't easy, even we failed 3 times straight...Those that take this exam and end up quitting as Shonobi, those that die during it...we've seen it all."

It sounded as bad as Sasori had said and of course the nerves were washing over her anew. 'We haven't even gotten into the proper room yet and people are already fighting.'

"We're just thinning out those that will fail anyways, what's wrong with that?" The guard with hair more unruly than Naruto's was still speaking.

Sasuke snorted from next to her. "I agree with the sentiment but you _will_ let me pass and you're going to remove genjutsu. The gathering crowd murmured in confusion from behind. "You probably noticed it first, right Sakura?"

"Huh?" She hadn't expected to be addressed by him out of the blue.

"You're analytical ability and Genjutsu know-how is the best of our team." Sasuke had graced her with the faintest of smiles, more of a smirk as was his nature but she realized at once that he had meant to boost her moral.

"Of course I noticed, what building labels rooms in the 300's on the second floor?" Even if he'd only said it to make her feel better, Sakura couldn't help the spark of pride that lingered in her own smile and the feeling seemed infectious because Naruto was grinning at her side as well. All the while the numbers above the door blurred until they made more sense.

She'd only looked away for a moment but from the corner of her eye she saw Sasuke shift and the incoming kick that was aimed for his head but before it could meet she blinked and the guy with the awful bowl cut had grabbed both Sasuke and the door guard's legs.

'That speed...it's impressive.' And completely different from who he'd been a moment ago considering he'd been knocked around by that same guard.

"What happened to the plan?" another boy with long hair and familiar eyes complained. "You were the one who said we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves." He was obviously a Hyuuga and the girl with the buns had joined his side.

Sakura had to do a double take because the bruises she'd seen on them earlier were completely gone.

"Well, about that…" Whoever gave him that unfortunate haircut should have been ashamed but it was nothing compared to the eyebrows she was getting a good look at as he stalked in her direction with deadset determination.

"Oh no" The other girl sighed with the shake of her head.

"My name is Rock Lee and yours is Sakura…" His teeth turned out to be astoundingly bright. "Let's go out together, I'll protect you with my life!" Lee went as far as to give her a thumbs up.

Sakura sucked in a breath and the words came tumbling from her mouth without thought. "Uh, no way, you're kinda lame." She just was not into guys who wore leotards.

"And she's got a soulmate! But even if she didn't, Sakura-chan would totally be my girlfriend!" Naruto told the slumping figure in green.

'I'm not really sure if having a soulmate precludes one from seeing other people.' Frankly she wasn't sure about a lot of the intricacies but most people with bonds tended towards the romantic strain rather than the platonic but so far she wasn't feeling either when it came to Sasori. 'I mostly just feel angry with him.' and also confused.

Her attention turned towards Sasuke and the Hyuuga he was trading words with as Naruto complained about how no one was interested in fighting two of them were so unbothered and unafraid. All her anxieties seemed to fall to nothing in the face of Sasuke's confidence and Naruto's exuberance. Between the two of them it felt like anything was possible, the feeling they gave off was infectious.

Sakura took it as her cue to move things along, grabbing Naruto's hand and then Sasuke's. "Let's get going, ok?" She smiled the brightest that she had in days and dragged them in her wake. They only got as far as an open auditorium down the hall before Lee caught up with them and there was even more flirting from him-but that paled to the realization that he was so close to beating Sasuke.

She'd had to throw her body between him and the floor, Sasuke was so shocked he hadn't even moved to mitigate the impact on his own and his shoulder driving into her leg and side didn't exactly feel great. 'Though, it is a little hard to think about that when there is a giant talking turtle. This is all so surreal.' There was a burst of smoke and then there was a man standing on the turtle's back one who looked like an older but _just_ as strange version of Lee.

If they were..._eccentric_ apart they were even more so together. Lee got a punch to the face right in the middle of chastising Naruto's fashion critique but then the teacher and student were hugging and crying like nothing had happened. Gai spoke about Kakashi and their rivalry but Sakura had a very hard time imagining her teacher being rivals with _anyone._ He had no enthusiasm for it.

Sasuke seemed shaken by the realization that there were people stronger than Lee waiting but in the way of boys that she didn't quite understand Naruto's insults only seemed to spur him on, confidence restored if it had ever been shaken. It was something Sakura had admired in him since academy days, a way of carrying oneself that she simply lacked. 'Naruto has it too.' she noted, walking between them as they advanced towards their destination.

The door that they had been seeking came into sight and with it the mess that made up Kakashi's hair. "Oh you're here too Sakura?" He actually didn't seem all that surprised by it as he pushed off the wall he'd been leaning on. As it turned out he'd lied about the test being an individual option, proving her earlier instincts correct.

Sakura knew that she would have shown up purely out of obligation to Naruto and Sasuke but pride and outrage due to Sasori's misanthropic views had certainly played a factor.

"...But you're all here of your own free will and for that I'm proud of you." Kakashi smiled in a way that made her feel like they were already winners. It was silly but she couldn't help it.

The doors opened and this time Sakura didn't hesitate to walk through them.

* * *

[1] Goma-Dango, or Sesame balls. Usually filled with Anko but sometimes Lotus paste and deep fried.

If anyone is wondering about the family tree:

Chiyo and Ebizo are brother and sister, descended from the 2nd Kazekage. Ebizo was the father of the 3rd who died without issue. Orimasu (Sasori's father) and Rasa are brothers.

For some reason in the middle of this chapter I kept thinking in the previous two I had labeled Sasori as their uncle-And I was sitting there thinking to myself "Well now wait a second that doesn't make sense because it would mean Sasori and Rasa are brothers and that just does not match up." so I went back to read it and nope, it was Rasa who was referred to as _his _uncle...Just further proof that I can't keep things straight.


End file.
